Waterloo Regional Police Officer Charged as Result of SIU Investigation

Waterloo Regional Police Officer Charged as Result of SIU Investigation

Waterloo Region, Ontario – A twenty-six year member of the Waterloo Regional Police Service has been charged by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) in connection with an investigation into an off-duty matter.

Caleb Roy, a Sergeant assigned to the Criminal Investigations Branch, has been charged with one count of Sexual Assault and one count of Breach of Trust.

The charges are in relation to an off-duty incident that allegedly occurred in 2010, and was reported to the Waterloo Regional Police in November, 2017.

The officer was suspended at the time the Service became aware of the alleged incident and the SIU invoked their mandate.

Why does the SIU exist?

Most of us have heard about SIU Investigations but perhaps we aren't sure why they exist and who conducts them. The following details should help you to understand the importance of the unit.

Prior to the establishment of the SIU, police services investigated its own officers in Ontario, or in some instances, another police service was assigned to conduct the investigation. Over time, public concern grew about the integrity of the process in which police officers investigated other police officers, particularly in incidents of police shootings where a member of the public had been wounded or killed. Simply put, there came to be a lack of public confidence in a system where police investigated themselves.

As a result, the SIU was formed in 1990 under a new Ontario Police Services Act, which established the SIU as an independent, arm’s length agency of the government, led by a Director and composed of civilian investigators.

The mandate of the Special Investigations Unit is to maintain confidence in Ontario's police services by assuring the public that police actions resulting in serious injury, sexual assault or death are subjected to rigorous, independent investigations.

What does the SIU investigate?

The SIU has a limited jurisdiction. The Unit conducts investigations into police activity where someone has been seriously injured, alleges sexual assault or has died. The jurisdiction captures cases where the police conduct in question causes serious injury or death to another police officer. In addition, it includes incidents of serious injury or death connected to the conduct of a police officer at the time of the incident, regardless of the fact that the individual may no longer be a police officer at the time of the Unit’s investigation.

Complaints involving police conduct, services and policies that do not meet these criteria must be referred to other complaint processes.

Who are SIU investigators?

All SIU investigators are civilians. They come to the SIU from a variety of backgrounds ranging from policing, workplace health and safety, national security and intelligence, immigration, corrections and the legal profession. By the end of 2009-10, of the Unit’s investigators stationed at the Head Office, eight were of non-policing background while six investigators had a policing background.

The Unit’s investigative team has extensive experience investigating serious incidents, such as deaths, sexual assault allegations, serious assaults, shootings and motor vehicle collisions. The average investigative experience among the Unit’s investigators and forensic investigators is approximately 26 and 32 years, respectively